Fluctuating leverage engine



March 25, 1930. F. 1.. EAGER 1,751,474

FLUCTUATING LEVERAGE' ENGINE Y Filed April 18, 1922 2 Sheets-Shet -1 f'zix'ed 1311105 figgg/vm/P if TTOF/YEY March 25, 1930.

F. L. EAGER FLUC TUATING LEVERAGE ENGINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 18. 1922 Ma gy-0;?

I .a/ *7 Agra/Pm?! Patented Mar. 25, 1930 FRANK I4. EAGER, ,WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT FLUCTUATING LEVERAGE ENGINE Application filed April '18,

My invention relates to' mechanism for transmittmg power from a dr ving member to a drlven member, and especlally for translating a reciprocating movement of the driv- 6 ing member into the rotary movementof a driven member, and an object of my invention,:among others, is to provide a driving mechanism that shall be particularly efficient in the results obtained from itsujse and especially as to the power that is transmitted by its use. f V I a 7 Forms of mechanism embodying my invention and in the construction and use of which the objectsher'einset out, as well as others,

maybeattained, is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whicha Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating my invention as embodied in one construction of mechanism. a

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the application of my invention as embodiedin another form of mechanism. 7 T

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the embodiment ofmy invention in still another form of mechanism. Figure 4 illustrates the embodiment of th invention in still another form of'mechanism shown by a diagrammatic view; f

Figure 5 is a viewof the mechanism shown in Figure 4, but omitting the eccentric mount for the fulcrum lever. 1

. In that form of mechanism illustrated in Figure l the numeral 5 denotes the cylinder of an engine that may be constructed of any suitable material and may be supplied with a driving medium, as steam, gas, or other fluid, in any suitable manner, the specific construction ofthe cylinder and its contained piston 6, andthe fluid used for driving the piston not being material to the present invention, which lnventlon resides 1n means for transmittingthe movement of the piston to. a

driven member as the crank 7 of a crank A pitman 9 of ordinary construction and a pivotally, attached tothe piston in any ordinary manneris also pivotally connected with a connecting lever 10, which lever serves as a I connection between the pitman and the crank 7. This lever is pivotally supported at a ful- 19221 Serial No. 555,374.

scrum point aby a fulcrum lever 11 pivotally attached to a fixed support and movable to accommodate themovements of the parts above described each to another.

1 From this construction it will-be noted that just after the crank 7 passes the dead center the lever 10 acts to transmit the force applied. to the piston to a much greater degree than in cases where the pitman is directlyconnected to the crankshaft, as in the ordinary form of engine, and the same is true before the-piston has passed the deadcenter at the opposite limit ofits throw, the leverage now being made use of to transmit the power from the momentum of thedriven (55 parts to the piston, and this will be found of especial advantage when the piston on its re- .turn stroke 1s employed to compress a vgas,

as in a gas engine. i

It will be noted that after the crank 7 has traveled through an arc of approximately one w hundred and eighty degrees from the point 7 at which it passed the dead center'with the piston at the innerlimit of its throw, the m'omentum of the parts will cause the piston to travel inwardly to a slight extent, or slightly to the right of the point 12, as illustrated in dotted lines in Figure 1, and-just after the crank has passed the dead center, the piston will travel outwardly to a slight extent as to the point 13, as indicated in dotted lines in Figurell of the drawings, and this retrograde movement it is found can be utilized to advantage in the operation of engines of this type, as this movement changes to a slight degree'the position of the fulcrum point of the lever.

In that form of the structure illustrated in Figure 2 the cylinder, piston and pitman are constructed as hereinbefore described with respect to Figure 1. The connecting V lever 14, however, for connecting the pitnian with the crank is slotted for the reception of pivots 15-16 at its opposite ends,and is pivotally supported atthe fulcrum point 6,

and afulcrum lever 17 is pivotally mounted, as described with respect to the device. shown in Figure 1, and this lever has two slots 18 19 within which the pivots 15-16 reciprocate. The lever, 14 is connected With the pitman by means of a yoke 20 rigidly attached to the pitman and to the pivot 15.

With this form of the device the leverage between the piston and the crank is made use of by mounting the lever 14 on fulcrum lever, as in the structure disclosed in Figure 1, but the arrangement of the slots in the lever 14 and in the fulcrum lever causes the piston to travel from each limit of its throw directly to the opposite limit of its throw, that is, the retrograde movement obtained by the use of the device shown in Figure 1 is not present in the structure shown in Figure 2. In fact the two levers 10 and 11 comprise a compound lever arranged something in the form of a toggle lever and including said levers 10 and 11 in the one device and the levers 14 and 17 in the other device, which levers form the toggle connection between the piston and the crank shaft in each of the devices described.

In that embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figure 3 the cylinder, piston and crank are the same as hereinbefore described, but instead of employing a lever directly connecting the pitman with the crank, a fulcrum lever 21 is employed for this purpose pivotally mounted as above described and having slots 2223 to receive a pivot 24 on the pitman and the crank pin 25 of the crank. pitman shifting lever 26 is pivotally mounted on a fulcrum point 0 that also constitutes the pivot of the fulcrum lever 21, one end of this lever 26 being connected by a pitman rod 27 with the pitman, and the opposite end of the lever being connected by a crank connecting rod 28 with the crank pin 25. In this form of the device it will be noted that after the crank passes the dead center with the piston at the inner limit of its throw the pivot 24 is rapidly moved from the center of the slot 22 to one end of said slot, during which movement the crank pin 25 travels through an arc of substantially ninety degrees, and to a point shown in dotted outlines in Figure 3. During the continued movement of the crank pin, and through an arc of substantially one hundred and eighty degrees the pivot 24 travels to the opposite end of the slot 22.

In that form of the device illustrated in Figure 4 the cylinder, piston and crank are constructed as hereinbefore described with respect to the other devices. In this structure of Figure 4, however, the connecting and fulcrum levers are combined in a connecting fulcrum lever 29 pivotally attached at one end to an eccentric 30 and having a slot 31 to receive the crank pin from the crank. The eccentric is mounted upon a shaft 32 that is connected by a 'gear33 with a gear 34 secured to the driven shaft 8 of the mechanism.

In this form of the device the position of the parts just as the crank is passing the dead center, with the piston at the inner limitof its throw is shown in'full lines, and

the position of the parts when the crank has passed through substantially an arc of ninety degrees is illustrated in dotted lines.

In that form of the device illustrated in Figure 5 the structure is much like that of Figure 4, just described, except that in the arrangement of the parts shown in Figure 5 the gears and eccentric are omitted and the lever 35 is pivotally mounted on a fixed pivot 36 and is pivotally connected with the pitman. A slot 37 is formed in the lever that engages with the crank 7 of the crank shaft 8.

It will be noted that in all of the forms of the inventionherein illustrated and described a leverage connection is employed between the driving member and the driven member, which leverage is compounded and which changes by reason ofa change in the relative positions of pivots of members comprising the levers, and of the connected parts, whereby a compounding fluctuating leverage con trol is obtained that is made use of in the driving stroke of the piston to impart its power to the crank shaft, and in the idle stroke of the piston the same forces and power are made use of in transmitting the momentum of the driven mechanism to the piston, and this increase in leverage secures maximum results in the application of power at A times when the parts are in positions to require the greatest amount of power.

I claim 1. In combination with the cylinder of an internalcombustion engine, a piston, a driven member substantially in line with the direction of movement of said piston, including a crank, a connecting lever pivotally connecting said piston and crank, and a fulcrum lever pivotally supported and extending across a line between said piston and driven member, said fulcrum lever pivotally supporting said connecting lever.

2. In combination with the cylinder of an internal combustion engine, a piston, a driven member, a connecting lever between said driven member vand piston, said connecting lever having slots to receive pivots, a fulcrum lever pivotally supporting said connecting lever, and guides on the fulcrum lever for the pivots of said connecting lever. 3. In combination with the cylinder of an internal combustion engine, a piston, a driven member supported substantially inline with the direction of movement of said piston, av

connecting lever having slots and pivotally attached to said driven member by a pivot located in one of said slots, 2. link connecting the opposite end of said leverwiththe piston by a pivot located in the other of said slots, and a fulcrum lever pivotally supporting said connecting lever and having slots to receive the pivots ofsaid connecting levers.

4. In combination with the cy'linderof an internal combustion engine, a piston. and a driven member, a connecting lever connecting member, a connecting lever pivotally connected with said driven member and said piston and having slots to receive said pivots, and a fulcrum lever pivotally supported and supporting said connecting lever and also having slots for said pivots.

FRANK L. EAGER. 

